Development of a livelihood adaptation decision model for southwest coastal region of Bangladesh

Abstract

The decision-making process in livelihood adaptation is an important consideration for water resource management in the Southwest coastal areas of Bangladesh. The overall aim of the study was to understand the livelihood decision process considering the losses and gains of the people in the study area, and model the livelihood decision process which would help analyze decision pathways and alternatives. The study area covers both polder and non-polder areas of the Southwest coastal region. A detailed study was conducted in Baliadanga Union located in Batiaghata Upazila, and Gajendrapur and Chandgarh unions of Polder-29 in Dumuria Upazila of Khulna District. Interviews and FGDs were conducted with each livelihood group to understand their livelihood adaptation processes. Particular attention was paid to identify the threshold conditions, tipping points and losses and gains for different alternative livelihood adaptation options. Based on this analysis, a qualitative decision model is developed and different decision pathways are identified. The decision parameters, thresholds, tipping points and economic losses and gains are arranged in a set of quantitative equations and simple logical functions, which are conveniently set up in Excel spreadsheets for interactive analysis and projections. The livelihood adaptation in the study area is clustered into natural resource-based activities (i.e. agriculture, fishing, aquaculture, etc.) and human resource-based activities (i.e. livestock and poultry keeping, Gher aquaculture, day labor, small business, etc.). Mostly natural resource dependent livelihoods are found to be common (about 60%). The main occupation in the study area is farming and the majority of the people are sharecroppers. Since the large farmers are not engaged in the farming activies directly, rather they use their farmlands as a source of income, they are not considered as a livelihood group. The most dominant factors for livelihood switching of the farmers include increased salinity and scarcity of irrigation water. The threshold of livelihood is defined in this study as a set of socio-economic and environmental conditions to which a specific livelihood can sustain. A baseline condition is also defined for each livelihood which represents the benchmark used as a foundation for comparing the current and future livelihood conditions through a set of factors responsible for livelihood shifting. The possibility of switching livelihoods is relatively high for the marginal and small farmers, which is reflected in their relatively low threshold values, lower than the cumulative baseline value of these factors. The threshold value (2.55) of the marginal farmer group is lower than its baseline values (2.6). A smaller difference between the threshold and baseline values represents a shifting tendency in the current livelihood practices of marginal farmers. Also, the higher the difference between the threshold and baseline values, the lower the vulnerability of the group. The most preferred alternative for small and medium farmers is found to be ‘Gher aquaculture’ considering the short-term and long-term tangible and intangible loss and gain evaluation. The most preferred alternative for marginal farmers is ‘van pulling’ while rural to urban migration is a common scenario in the coastal livelihood adaptation practices. Adaptation tipping points for different factors are calculated, which help describe the situations where the livelihood threshold for a livelihood group is reached. Livelihood decision pathways include a diversity of livelihood content that is more actionable to further accelerate the use of livelihood adaptation policy at the point of loss and gain analysis. The livelihood decision pathways were generated based on the existing practices of livelihood options followed by the perception of the local people. After understanding the process, a decision model is developed and implemented in Microsoft Excel. The Excel-based model is verified by comparing the model outcome with known scenarios, and also by cross-checking with pathways generated by a web-based pathway generator. Based on this study, it is concluded that most of the current livelihoods of the Southwest coastal region will become vulnerable in the near future because of increased salinity and progressive inundation. The most vulnerable coastal people are the least capable to continue their current livelihood practices and are forced to migrate permanently. The livelihood decision model and pathways generated for different livelihood groups along with the associated loss-gain analysis will be useful to the policymakers for planning interventions to ensure admissible livelihood practices in the Southwest coastal areas. The model and pathways will be particularly useful to the local people to select appropriate alternatives and diversity on livelihood strategies.